A programmer's dilemma

And with that, I mean, mobile AND not mobile.
A game that can be played on both platforms. And players from both sides can meet.

Art of War 3: Global Conflict
does this.

And the teams that work on
Infinite Control: Dark World
are doing this.

The trick here is that you primarily choose mobile.
And the pc counterpart is a simple mouse click game.

This is my suggestion, but it is an opinion based of barely any experience.

What I means is this:

A> You can use all your time over 3+ years to develop an Engine for your game and not be able to MAKE a game ... because you have no writer, no artists, no level designer, no world-builder, etc.

B> You've used those 3+ years working on technology that was already OLDER at that time... And now 3+ years later ... Hardly anyone is using it and it's not inspiring ppl to design games using that technology.

***

So the point I am making is all the time you are wasting CODING an ENGINE, is time you can be spending using an Up-To-Date tool that works on Mobile, PC and Consoles.

Yes Unity is less programmer's style and more DESIGNER style. Yes you can code but it's like Triggers... On this, do that. It's also very GUI-oriented so what you BUILD you can test nearly from the start. Yes it's a PLATFORM... But it is a platform that is being used to make tons of game each year. The current estimate is almost 1,000,000 games made using Unity 3D.

So unless you have your head in the sand or have tunnel vision... You know that Unity 3D is capturing more and more of the market. There is also Unreal Engine but it scripts with C++. I don't want to use pointers ever again ... So F- that!

***

Did you take a bootstrap course? If you did, you should have enough samples and a review of all components available to you and how they each work. I don't work in a vacuum either ... So to learn I use classes. And so far it's been real neat to learn about VSCode, CDNs (Content Delivery Networks) which HOST Bootstrap files externally, Saas (to compile your own CSS files and personalized to your flavor...) He's already shown me locally with a Bootstrap CSS how a Button get styled WITH Bootstrap and comment the stylesheet a normal grey button. It's instantaneous with VSCode!

Bottom line you need good teachers to teach you the proper ways of using tools. I'm not saying all of them are GOOD... But you start with one and get the basics and move forwards...

***

I was making a Direct X on Windows some 25 years ago ... And I posted in a forum... Asking what my issue was and how it could be resolved. Never heard from anyone. But like 5 years later... Someone ELSE had the EXACT SAME PROBLEM... Like I said it was many years later and I had figured a way to circumvent the issue...

So you never know... That's all I'm saying.

Sincerely.

Although you have access to all his SOURCE code... Maybe chatting with him could be very productive. I understand your point of view too! And it's a bit a question of ensuring "compatibility". If I USE "Bootstrap" and compile using Saas my own colors and settings ... As Bootstrap EVOLVES, my files and way of using the library may differ. This would mean, I'd need to figure out what has changed and how it affect my particular implementation (be it any of my websites).

So I know how you feel. But I also feel a bit of a "tech" crunch to LEARN NEW and emerging technology. Some ppl say Bootstrap is dead ... Yet MILLIONS of websites use the library for their website needs. So I guess it's not a BAD decision to work with ONE (1) VERSION and I can DEBUG locally a NEWER version should the need arise to switch to a NEWER version.

It's like the website can run for 5 years no problems ... And then maybe in Year 4, I can start upgrading to the latest version LOCALLY and see how it perform: do all the controls still work, is the website INTACT???

Etc. etc. So for me the Bootstrap JUMP (or leap) is a manageable milestone.

That is IF I like it and it DOES what I NEED it to do. Still unsure about all of that TBH. But anyhow, I will start working with Bootstrap next week, I got all caught up with my custom dice this week because I've been working on a 3D Printed version, a Paper sample, my The Game Crafter Prototypes, etc. I've got a bunch of history that I've been working on with that project.

Anyhow, it is what it is. A chance to learn something NEW which requires LESS coding effort to do what IT DOES. That's the other matter: I'm compromising to how and what IT can do (the Bootstrap Library).

We shall see as I follow the course. All in good time and with good measure.

Sincerely.

Like I said "SOME PPL" are saying that Bootstrap is dead. Those are the "Avant-Gardists" who follow tech trends as closely as possible. Some ppl are saying that "Tailwind CSS" is the replacement for Bootstrap if you want more granular control...

But way back in 2001 when I started working... I wanted to code in JAVA. It was like my "dream" to make a JAVA application. And so I quit my job at a subsidiary of Hydro Quebec and went to the National Bank, a startup. That's when I learnt about webMethods. It was at that time an "Avant-Gardist" technology since it had it's own GRAPHICAL LANGUAGE ("Flow") incorporating JAVA services (which I loved) and that started a whole lot of consulting for major companies in Integration.

The bottom line is before in TECH, I USED to be "Avant-Gardist" but with time, technology goes from one cycle to another and suddenly you are more common with less business opportunities and the technology becomes more mainstream.

So 40,000+ companies use Bootstrap. It's NOT DEAD. Some ppl just like to follow the TRENDS and be on the "cutting edge of technology". I at the moment am trying to catch-up with some NEWER technology rather than coding it all myself.

And let me be clear: ONE (1) HTML 5.0 FILE. That's what it takes for the website currently. But I am missing Mobile-Support and somethings are a bit boring (or too similar), Bootstrap may offer better alternatives to those...

Therefore it depends who you ASK. I'm probably way behind in terms of time and technology... But a course will help me comprehend the fundamentals and then from there I can see what will be possible as the course EXAMINES all 100 Components from native to those requiring some JavaScript.

Cheers.

I agree 100%. That's why ppl are saying that "Bootstrap" is NOT dead. If you want to change the color-scheme or change the general appearance of the controls, "Bootstrap" is still easier and faster to do. Of course you need the SOURCE and Saas to compile the CSS... But remember there is a "MIN" CSS which means that the minimum of CSS is added to this file.

Of course, I have NOT yet compiled my own SOURCE ... I'm still needing to learn all 100 components. And Saas will be later in the course. But the TRUTH to me is that it does a bunch of things that are HTML & CSS "tricks" and even then there are "bugs".

In "Bootstrap" the creators managed to UNIFY everything and make it easier to CUSTOMIZE according to a THEME. You want ROUNDED buttons, you adjust a setting, you want a different COLOR scheme, you change the scheme, etc. And everything follows suit.

Like you say: "Nobody wants to have to change the color is 5 different places for it to FINALLY work!" That's just a WASTE of time. Granted it would be simpler if they provided the CSS and you could edit it directly... But the Saas compiler produces a SMALLER (in kBytes) CSS file because it strips out all of the spaces and therefore condenses the CSS file.

I'll see if there is a MIN (minimum) CSS file produced by Saas too. Not sure.

I KNOW there ARE "min" CSS files from CDNs (Content Delivery Networks) which is a fancy way of saying "Common Files on the Cloud"... Means you can use the STANDARD files and settings ONLINE.

But I want my own CSS ... So that the file can be LOCAL and therefore NOT changed. Again you need to worry about changes and IF in a couple of years I need to change a COLOR or something... Bootstrap may not be around... I will see how this Saas compiler works (can it be local or only web...) Things like that will help decide if Bootstrap is for ME or NOT.

Flexibility or Uniformity (Themes).

Personally I'm in the "Bootstrap" Camp because I want as GENERIC as POSSIBLE looking website with all the MODERN controls (Cards, Carousels, Modal Windows, etc.)

I think it will work for my needs. But again I need to confirm if I can D/L the Saas compiler and the Bootstrap SOURCE. I'm pretty sure the Developer is going to cover this in his course (he talks about it as to what he will show and discuss...), so I should get the necessary information.

Anyhow I will post back once I've made MY decision... When I have a more clear picture of the components, how to work with the SOURCE and how to COMPILE it ... and whether it has a MIN or regular CSS version when compiled.

Ideally I hope that the compiler can PRODUCE a "MIN" CSS given my own adaptations or theme/style.

We shall see...

Note #1: For the heck of it I was googling around for MIN CSS and Saas and found this snippet:

So it is possible to produce a REGUALAR CSS File and a MINIMUM CSS File too! I think this is going to be awesome TBH! I have also been looking at the SOURCE language which is also AWESOME too. They do Variable Substitution and Declared Constants like this:

$font-stack: Helvetica, sans-serif;
$primary-color: #333;

And then in then further in the CSS Source, we have:

body {
font: 100% $font-stack;
color: $primary-color;
}

And so that EXPLAINS how the CONSTANTS drive the THEME and how you can FIX the colors based on a THEME and the have CONSISTENT output of CSS 3.0 in whichever version you prefer (Regular or Minimum).

I would probably use the Regular CSS and then once done, switch to "MIN" so that it takes less time to LOAD the "MIN" CSS and it is as SMALL in size as possible.

I honestly think this is VERY COOL. To me it's CLEVER! And it should be okay to work with given what I know so far!